Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to paraphrase the Toronto Star columnist Jim Travers who wrote that while the U.S. fist-shaking at Saddam Hussein successfully masks more pressing problems, including a flagging domestic economy, escalating violence in Israel and Palestine and the failure in effectively prosecuting the war on terrorism, violence is not the answer.

No matter how hard the Pentagon tries to reposition war as a bloodless video game, it will have inescapable consequences. Soldiers will die, civilian losses will be coldly counted as collateral damage and an unstable region will rearrange itself in ways that defy forecasts or logic.

I appeal to the House and to the government to remain committed to a multilateral UN approach and to have real faith in democracy. There should be no declarations of war until and unless a binding vote is taken in the House. There are political costs to defying uncle Sam but war is no way to try to please a friend.

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to make my first statement as a parliamentary secretary about the City of Brampton.

On January 17, 2003, the City of Brampton celebrated its 150th anniversary, and the celebration will last for the entire year. I invite members of the House to join me in congratulating the mayor, members of city council and the citizens of Brampton for the wonderful celebration.

Brampton is also known as the city of flowers or the city of gardens. Brampton is home to over 325,000 citizens and is one of the fastest growing cities in the country. Brampton is the home of Nortel Networks, Chrysler Canada, Brampton Brick and many high tech corporations, and employs over 100,000 citizens.

I ask members of the House to join me in wishing Brampton a happy birthday.

Mr. Speaker, as the Prime Minister struggles to finish off his political career on a positive note, his so-called friends in cabinet insist on making it a bumpy road home. Every time he pretends to rein in the largesse of his ministers, especially his former finance minister, another one jumps up and proves again that the Liberal government is rotten beyond repair.

The heritage minister is now taking her turn at proving the Liberals just do not get it. She said recently “Obviously, there's a link between corporate donations and government policy...”. This is quite an admission from a minister of the crown who sits at the cabinet table cooking up the thin gruel that passes for government policy under these Liberals.

We have also learned that the Minister of Canadian Heritage is not above strong-arming her own corporate connections at Heritage Canada to keep her sputtering leadership ambitions funded. She will never have the high priced connections of the member for LaSalle--Émard, but then again she will never have to register any ships offshore either.

Mr. Speaker, like many of my colleagues in this House, I have received calls and letters from constituents in my riding of Laval West, asking that the government not enter a war against Iraq.

We know that the government in that country is far from democratic. But before any offensive is launched, I want to put on the record that the clear and unequivocal consent of the UN is absolutely necessary. Peace and security worldwide are at stake.

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise in this House today as the new member for Berthier—Montcalm.

My first words are words of thanks to the people of my riding for the trust they have shown in me by sending me to represent them in the House of Commons. I want to assure my dear friends in Berthier—Montcalm that I will look out for your interests in Ottawa.

As I said repeatedly while campaigning, I will focus my action on issues dealing with the social and economic realities of our region, that is, agriculture, lumber and health.

I will also go to bat for all seasonal workers in the tourism industry, who are heavily penalized by the existing provisions of the employment insurance plan.

I also take the opportunity afforded me in this House today to reiterate my commitment to my top priority: to support the people of Quebec in their pursuit of nationhood.

Mr.Speaker, Canadians have identified what they felt should be the government's top priorities. They named health care, the economy, education and defence spending as their top four national issues. With an upcoming budget these priorities need to be considered.

Most Canadians believe that the main problems facing the Canadian Forces are inadequate resources for equipment and personnel. Three out of four Canadians agree that the defence budget needs to be increased. Many Erie--Lincoln constituents also share these views. In a recent letter writing project by Lakeshore Catholic High School leadership class, one of the reoccurring themes was the need to adequately fund the men and women in the Canadian armed forces.

I urge the Government of Canada to consider the priorities listed by Canadians and Erie--Lincoln constituents, especially with regard to defence issues. We need to provide solutions to the immediate needs of the Canadian Forces that reflect the values and desires of the Canadian public.

Mr. Speaker, recently Statistics Canada reported that my riding of Richmond, B.C. has the highest proportion of visible minorities in the country. Among municipalities with 5,000 or more, Richmond leads the way with 59% of its population being part of a visible minority group.

The census reported that during the 1990s Richmond was the top ranking city for immigrants to live in with the largest increase occurring in the Filipino community. Canadians of Chinese origin have established businesses and organizations in Richmond making it an exciting multicultural and diverse community in which to live.

Eventually these newcomers will embrace Canadian citizenship and the Canadian way of life. Richmond has excellent schools and community centres thereby making it a wonderful place to live and raise a family.

Mr. Speaker, last week I held a town hall meeting on problems faced by new immigrants to Canada. Representatives from over 30 cultural groups gathered for a discussion of delays in processing, the need for settlement services and difficulties in obtaining accreditation for training received in other countries.

One man from South America with Masters degrees in both science and education told of being accepted as an independent class immigrant on the basis of his 15 years' teaching experience. However when he reached Canada he discovered he did not qualify to teach here. His current job is restocking vending machines.

A PhD student from China talked about other examples of wasted immigrant talent. He said “It's just like pulling out a tree--you transport it to this country but you forget to water it”.

Immigrants and our wonderful country deserve so much better from this government.

Mr. Speaker, last week, Fisheries and Oceans Canada released the results of the 2002 commercial fishing season in Quebec.

On November 30, nearly 58,000 tonnes of fish, shellfish and crustaceans were landed in Quebec, at a total value of $158.7 million, an overall increase over last year. This is the highest tonnage since 1995, at the highest value since 1993.

As the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans said last Thursday in Quebec City, during the conference of the Association québécoise de l'industrie de la pêche:

By working together, the Government of Canada and the fishery can meet the challenges of tomorrow, maintain a strong fishery and aquaculture sector and produce the best quality seafood possible.

Mr. Speaker, tonight the world will be watching the toxic Texan give his state of the union address to the American people and to the world. I guarantee the bulk of that speech will be based on future war in Iraq.

I encourage the President of the United States to start focusing on the war on despair, the war on poverty, the war on famine, the war on homelessness and the war on AIDS that is raping and pillaging the people of southern Africa. The real war that is facing us in the world today is the humanitarian tragedy that is beyond belief. As our colleague, Mr. Stephen Lewis said, “If the world does not focus on this, it is a human calamity beyond repair”.

I encourage the President of the United States, our Prime Minister, all parliamentarians and all Canadians to focus their attention on the real despair in this world, which is that of the peoples of Africa.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity, first, to sincerely thank the voters of Lac-Saint-Jean—Saguenay for supporting me on December 9. My words, actions, and sense of priorities will prove that they made the right choice.

The best way of showing my gratitude will be to be an effective spokesperson for the issues on which there is consensus in our region, in order to make concrete improvements in the everyday lives of my constituents.

I would also like to remind the Liberal government that, during the election campaign, it came and made promises to the people of Lac-Saint-Jean—Saguenay. As you can see, the people of my riding have not forgotten, and nor have I.

Finally, I hope to prove to everyone, particularly young people disillusioned by politics, that politics are essential if we want to make things happen and are still, in a democracy, the best way to send a message.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate the Vancouver 2010 Bid Corporation for submitting the bid book to host the Olympic and Paralympic winter games to the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne, Switzerland on January 9, 2003.

Canada is still competing, along with Salzburg, Austria and Pyeongchang, South Korea to win the rights to host the world in 2010.

We have a great team made up of great players and I know we can win gold for Canada. The team, led by Mr. Jack Poole, includes volunteers and governments, first nations and athletes, the Canadian Olympic Committee and Canadian Paralympic Committee and leaders from business and finance from right across the country. I thank them for the good work.

Members please join me in congratulating the Vancouver 2010 Bid Corporation for its success to date. Let us go for the gold. Let us bring the Olympic and Paralympic winter games home in 2010.

Mr. Speaker, for many years Canada's publicly funded health care system was the envy of the world. In the beginning the federal government paid 50% of the cost of provincially delivered health care services and had the moral authority to insist on a truly national health care program.

However the federal government drastically cut health care funding to the provinces, resulting in a dangerously downgraded health care system. Now paying only 14% of the costs, Ottawa no longer has the moral authority to insist on national standards.

The federal government has recently indicated it will put more money into health care. Accordingly, it is essential that the Prime Minister reach agreement with the premiers on a renewed and modernized health care program.

Canadians expect their leaders to work co-operatively to restore our health care system as one of the hallmarks of our citizenship.

Mr. Speaker, we were saddened yesterday by the news that Quebec artist Louis Archambault had died at the age of 87.

Louis Archambault was a refined artist who was respected by his colleagues and who redefined sculpture. He was one of the first sculptors to do public monumental art, and he moved sculpture from the religious and commemorative themes of the past to abstraction and modernity. The works of Louis Archambault can be seen throughout Canada.

Louis Archambault was also an excellent teacher, and he influenced young artists when he taught at the École de meuble and at the École des beaux-arts, in Montreal, beginning in the seventies.

In 2000, his life was the subject of a documentary entitled “À la recherche de Louis Archambault”.

On behalf of the Canadian government, I want to praise Louis Archambault for his work and for his influence on sculpture in Canada. I also wish to offer my most sincere condolences to his family and friends.

Mr. Speaker, tomorrow the House is scheduled to debate Bill C-6, the Specific Claims Resolution Act. The Canadian Alliance strongly supports speedy resolutions of claims but we cannot support the government bill because it would not accomplish that goal.

In committee the Canadian Alliance introduced more than three dozen amendments to strengthen the independence, transparency and accountability of the Indian claims centre that would be set up under this legislation.

No timelines were mandated in the Bill C-6 process. In fact there are numerous opportunities for the government to stonewall. The proposed structure lends itself to patronage peddling.

Our Canadian Alliance amendments would have sped up the claims resolution process, reduced conflict of interest, increased organizational independence and saved taxpayer dollars. Every one of our amendments was brushed aside, despite support from opposition members.

This bill would offer very little hope to first nations or taxpayers that the backlog of specific claims would ever be resolved in a responsible and expeditious manner.